As mobile devices, include smartphones, tablets, mobile gaming devices, etc., have become more prevalent, more media is consumed on such devices. Users are increasingly comfortable with the navigation and control of such devices for access media items. Coinciding with the rise in such “small-screen” devices there has been a rise in the size of television sets and monitors. Technologies have improved the resolution of such “big-screen” devices and their refresh rates as well, offering a richer experience.
Some technologies enable consumers with both large-screen and small-screen devices to connect the two, enabling one to be used to control the other. Different approaches have been taken to enable the pairing and cooperation of these types of devices. However, current pairing approaches have not been entirely satisfactory. For example, one current pairing approach uses a protocol known as DIAL (Discovery and Launch) that can discover and launch applications on the same WiFi network. However, this technology requires that a large-screen device explicitly support DIAL on a network level, which significantly reduces the number of applicable large screen devices.